Robot wants puppy

Tombot looks at you with soulful eyes. It wags its tail and makes an "arf" noise, raising its eyebrows as you pet it. The fact that Tombot could almost pass at a glance for a real dog is a testament to the work of Jim Henson's Creature Shop, which provided the artistic design for the bot.Tombot is an intriguing Kickstarter project. It wants to turn out affordable, adorable robot puppies to help soothe seniors with dementia, and to act as companions to anyone who can't have a real pet. As with all crowdfunding efforts, keep in mind that not all projects deliver on time or as expected.Tombot co-founder Tom Stevens was inspired to create the robo-pup after having to rehome his mother's dog when her Alzheimer's became too severe for the beloved pet to safely stay with her. He hopes Tombot will provide a sense of emotional support and affection and improve the quality of life for seniors with dementia.The Kickstarter project has so far exceeded its modest $20,000 goal, to the tune of over … [Read more...] about Robot dog for seniors made cute by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop

Welcome to the TV Roundtable, where some of TV Club’s writers tackle episodes that deal with a central theme. This is the sixth of eight installments to focus on “controversial episodes.” Ellen , “The Puppy Episode” (season four, episodes 22-23; originally aired April 30, 1997) In which what everybody already knows finally gets said, out loud and out proud… Donna Bowman: As the fourth season of Ellen DeGeneres’ successful sitcom began production, ABC executives were uneasy about her. Early on, her character, Ellen Morgan, does what any single sitcom lead was expected to do: She answers personal ads, goes on blind dates, tries to reignite things with her high school crush, strikes up relationships with cute customers at her bookstore, has erotic dreams about Arye Gross, acts hip to impress her younger boyfriend Peter Krause. In short, her life revolves around trying to meet men, date men, and sleep with men. But in season three, those … [Read more...] about The episode that liberated—then destroyed—

What do you do with a $2,900 robot dog?Sony's Aibo won't help wake you up out of bed when it detects daylight. It won't use its internet connection to deliver the morning news report or use its cameras to watch for intruders. Voice commands won't cue up playlists or set reminders or even fetch a pair of slippers on Amazon.This one-of-a-kind robotic pet doesn't act like other smart-home gadgets. Packed with sensors, cameras and a wagging tail, it instead will trot around your home programmed for just one mission: companionship. Now playing: Watch this: My week living with Aibo, Sony’s robot dog 6:55 I got to spend a week living with Sony's wonder robo-pup. The dog -- a totally redesigned and updated version of the robotic pet that Sony sold from 1999 to 2006 -- begins shipping to US homes in December. But my brief test run gave me a chance to see what it's like for my family to live with a robot -- and how different people (and animals) react to this new species of pet. … [Read more...] about My week with Aibo: What it’s like to live with Sony’s robot dog

Amid the TVs, the laptops and the Alexa-enabled everything, CES also lets you come face to face with the latest robots.Sometimes, in the case of cute personal and home robots, this means quite literally looking them in the eye. For the more industrial robots, it's more like observing them from a safe distance.In recent years we've seen even the biggest consumer electronics companies, such as LG and Sony, put robots front and center during their grand on-stage presentations at the Las Vegas tech show. Equally exciting, if a little harder to find, are the cool robotics startups, which are working on niche applications, including for health care or spatial awareness technology that allow them to move autonomously.They'll all be at the show this year, and team CNET will be scouring the floor to make sure we meet each and every one of them.Digital BFFs and playtime palsPerhaps the robot we're most excited to meet at CES this year is Lovot, a new companion robot from Japanese startup Groove … [Read more...] about At CES 2019, robots will be smarter, cuter and cooler than ever

Hi everyone! It’s me, Shep’s mom again, back to do another rundown of some of my favorite Kinja deals for the year. Being that Shep wrote most of the posts, I’m going to say everything was awesome. But in fairness, I did not buy one of everything in 2018, so I will stick to reviewing my tried and true. I started off the year with high expectations and super cold temperatures. I couldn’t go outside so I bought the Stamina ATX Rower. It was great. For a few weeks. It is still great but more of a device to step over than sit on. The rower works great, gave a nice workout, but as resolutions often go come February..... This might not work for everyone, but I have a basement. Kinja got me started buying online in bulk. I ordered a dozen rolls of paper towels and was in heaven having them dropped on my porch. What a way to avoid driving the mile to the store! I do feel some guilt toward my my very sweet mail carrier, but nevertheless I persisted. First the towels, … [Read more...] about Shep’s Mom’s Favorite Kinja Deals of 2018